The development of female entrepreneurship in Cameroon

Women’s entrepreneurship suffers from several problems, one of the main ones being the difficulty to access financing. However, it has been demonstrated that the financial empowerment of women contributes effectively to the development of the family and, in turn, to poverty reduction. Aware of this reality, the Canadian and Cameroonian governments, within the framework of bilateral cooperation, have set up the MPPF project (Productive Microprojects for Women) which, with the advent of microfinance regulations, will give rise to the creation of three first category microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the cities of Yaoundé, Douala and SA’A. Their role is to promote women’s entrepreneurship in Cameroon through financial support, advisory support and training. Thanks to the CEC-PROM projects, many families have seen their standard of living improve considerably. However, due to governance problems, CEC-PROM Douala and SA’A have gone bankrupt. Only CEC-PROM MATURE continues to operate despite certain cyclical and sometimes structural difficulties encountered.